The Western Front was stalemate, and countries other than the European powers eventually entered the war World War I . .. New weapons were introduced, and both of them lacked a decisive hit at the cost of great sacrifice, and there was no sign that the battle would end. It was American participation in 1917 that broke that balance. is.
And another big turning point is the Russian Revolution .. This is World War I It will have a great impact on the world in a little while before the impact on itself.
This time, in addition to "America's participation in the war," "Why was the United States so influential in World War I?" To go.
American participation (April 1917)
Woodrow Wilson re-elected as President of the United States for remaining neutral in the November 1916 presidential election ..
Propaganda was also transmitted in the United States, and in 1915, Germany's submarine attack on a British passenger ship killed nearly 130 of its own citizens, so it was a allies . While sympathetic to (Allied), neutral to the masses There were many.
In that situation, Germany Unrestricted Submarine Operation in February 1917. Declared to resume.
Red line-Declaration of re-advancement of allied forces (1917) Red dotted line ... Declaration of re-advancement of allied forces (1918)
Before the start of the operation, Britain had a wide blockade at sea, but after the start of the operation, the German army has blocked the sea.
Germany Unrestricted Submarine Operation The reason for trying to do this is that the allies continued to import war supplies from the sea even though their own country was blocked.
Among them, Japan was supplying supplies to the allies. And America was.
Japan is Anglo-Japanese Alliance I understand that I will supply supplies because I was in the position of a complete allies, but why did the United States continue to supply supplies mainly in the allies?
What is the reason why the United States remained neutral and why it came to the allies?
The United States is made up of immigrants from many countries, regardless of whether they are trading nations or central allies, and the situation was that they had no choice but to choose neutrality on the surface, but in reality, by building a close relationship with the United Kingdom, they created a relationship with Europe. A position close to the side of the trading country Was taken.
President Wilson "I don't want to be too strict and annoy Britain."
In terms of business, the United States is close to a trading country, and as of 1916, the value of exports to the US trading countries was about 3 billion dollars, and exports to allies were about 1 million dollars due to the influence of the naval blockade. Is done.
The rise of America
While maintaining a neutral position, the United States is war boom with mass exports of military supplies and other shortages in Europe. (Japan, which increased exports led by shipbuilding and steelmaking, also war economy was).
Furthermore, when European countries raised the capital they had invested in the United States to raise cash to continue the war, the American side began to lend money. As a creditor country, I have changed to a position where I can strongly appear in Europe. Here, too, the main loan was to the allies.
Since then, the United States will continue to exert influence worldwide until it continues to this day.
American participation
In January 1917, the United States, which not only gained an advantage in industrial production in the world but also began to have influence, advocated "peace without victory" of "no annexation and no compensation" and mediated the end of the war. I set out to do it.
However, although he wanted to end the war in a desirable way for the United States by taking advantage of his position as a neutral power, Germany did not succeed, and Germany unrestricted submarine operation . Start.
When the damage to the United States continued in this submarine operation and domestic public opinion leaned further toward anti-Germany, the United States broke up with Germany, and in April 1917, " Defending Democracy " I declared war on the grounds.
With the unscathed soldiers and the supplies, the Allies come back to life.
What are the two reasons for participating in the war?
To tell the truth, " It is better to have the Allies with close economic ties win There was an imperialist purpose in the depths of the American entry.
Around this time, the United States began to be vigilant against Japan, which had begun to occupy German territory in the Pacific and China . It is. The US interests in China and Japan's Twenty-One Demand for China Was clearly influential.
At the end of the war, we will take the initiative in diplomacy and begin to move toward suppressing Japan.
What was the situation in China at that time?Yin Metal Pig Republic of China established by defeating Qing by (1911-1912) .. The first president is Yuan Shikai Is the person.
Twenty-One Requests for China Yuan Shikai Will leak some information to other great powers and try to arouse the opposition of the international community and make it unsuccessful, but the Japanese side will have to reduce it to 13 articles and create a situation where it has to be accepted, and the Yuan Shikai administration will only accept it. lost.
However, in opposition to the acceptance itself in China, opposition movements and riots occurred. Anti-Japanese and anti-Japanese movements will increase in Japan.
Meanwhile, when he died in June 1916, the turmoil worsened and Republic of China Is in a state of civil war. Warlord Era where multiple warlords stand side by side Is rushing into. Each warlord begins to have a different power behind it.
↑ Modified wikipedia "Warlord Era"
Japan and the United States and Britain supported completely different warlords, and eventually they went on a path of confrontation. In this way, the conflict of interest between Japan and the United States began to become clear.
Wilson said in a cabinet meeting the day before the diplomatic relations with Germany that "the white race may need to be strengthened to counter the yellow race" and will go around China rather than the war with Germany. At this point, he seemed to recognize that the conflict with Japan would become important in the future.
The outbreak of the Russian Revolution (1917)
Shortly before the United States decided to participate in the war. Bolsheviks in Russia And Mensheviks Except for Congress ( Duma ) And the government have created a cooperative system.
* Bolsheviks And Mensheviks Is mentioned a little in the article below. Both are members of the social democratic organization "Social Democratic Labor Party".
However, the first battle Battle of Tannenburg After being defeated in 1915, a big defeat in Galicia (southwestern Ukraine) and Poland shook Russia's national unity system, and the feeling of war was widespread among the good fighting soldiers on the front line.
Two revolutions occur (February / October 1917)
In the summer of 1916, the turmoil began to spread not only to the soldiers on the front lines but also to the citizens of the country, and the labor movement, which had once subsided, became active. Ethnic groups in Central Asia also began to protest the mobilization, and the country was in turmoil due to protests and uprisings.
When fuel and food are scarce due to a lack of railroad network, the capital Petrograd in the northwestern part of Russia near the front line of the European front The situation is particularly serious.
In such Petrograd, a demonstration by female workers in 1917 triggered a city-wide general strike movement to overthrow tyranny and seek peace. Developed into. On the contrary, soldiers also joined, and workers and soldiers Soviet were all over the place. (Council) was organized.
These Soviet The Diet, which was wary of the movement, established a caretaker government centered on liberal parties, and the emperor Nicholas II To abdicate. This is [ February Revolution ] Is called.
The 300-year-old Romanov dynasty collapsed and Cadet Russia's first democratic government was born, consisting of (← commonly known as the “Constitutional Democratic Party,” which was a liberal party). In Russia, the caretaker government created at this time And Soviet Will stand side by side, and after that, the Diet will be dismantled.
Then, in October of the same year, Petrograd workers and soldiers Soviet An armed uprising occurred in an attempt to overthrow the caretaker government in parallel. This is [ October Revolution ] Or [ Soviet Revolution 】is.
At this point Russia is Bolshevik on behalf of the caretaker government Will seize power.
Independent peace with the Soviet government, Germany, etc.
October Revolution The day after, the Soviet government Vladimir = Lenin Advocated " Proclamation for Peace Is issued. "Immediate peace without annexation and no compensation" to the governments and citizens of cooperating countries By disclosing the secret treaty of the imperial Russian era, he appealed for the meaninglessness of the war and recommended other cooperating countries to participate in the peace with Germany.
On top of that, Russia independently started peace talks with the German army and signed a truce agreement in March 1918 Brest-Litovsk Treaty . And leave the front. The Eastern Front ends with a victory on the part of the Allies.
Looking only at the battlefield, even if Germany put in the troops of the Eastern Front to the west and made the final major offensive, the advance was stopped due to lack of supply, and the Western Front remained in a stalemate after all. Hmm.
Still, Russia's withdrawal and proclamation for peace And publication of secret treaties Had a great influence on the end of the war.
What is the impact of the proclamation on peace?
"Proclamation for Peace" is a Russian Revolution to its own country and colonies in the countries participating in the war I was worried about the impact of this. Labor movement leaders and social democracies have also cooperated in the war, but they questioned the war and feared that the national unity system would collapse.
In this way, we have no choice but to express the purpose of the war and the principle of peace.
The allies try to make a joint statement, but it doesn't work and gives up. The coordination of interests between countries failed, and each country issued a statement.
President Wilson of the United States " Fourteen Peace Principles "Is a proposal made from such a counter to Lenin, and is the framework for later concluding a peace treaty. It included the abolition of secret diplomacy, freedom of the seas, and self-determination.
The end of the war
At a time similar to Russia's departure from the front, the continuation of the war became severe outside Russia. * When the voices criticizing the government within each country began to grow, it was finally
- September:Bulgaria
- October:Ottoman Empire
- November:Austria
Has also come to a truce. Realizing that the remaining Germany has no chance of victory, the military entrusts the administration to the parliamentary leader and moves on to the truce negotiations with the US president who was originally trying to hold the gap.
* In Germany as well, criticisms of the government will increase and the movement to promote democratization of the imperial government will intensify, but the military will be tightened and the dictatorship will be strengthened to counter it. By the time the other allies fell, the military was in full control.
Meanwhile, when the German Navy leadership finally issued a desperate dispatch order, the sailors who were dissatisfied with the treatment Kiel naval port Uprising. The rebellion for immediate peace spreads quickly in Germany, where famine had already run out.
In this rebellion, the German Emperor Wilhelm II Asylum to the Netherlands, abdicated domestic princes (Germany is a federal state) and republic in Germany Was established, and an armistice agreement was signed between the Government of the New Republic and the Allies.
Many new weapons were used, and it became the first total war in history World War I .. This long war ended after a long period of four years with many casualties.